Manatee's bats too much for Patriots

Monday

Feb 25, 2013 at 7:20 PM

CF saw State College of Florida-Manatee score seven unanswered runs, dealing the Patriots a 7-3 loss at Goodlett Field.

Courtesy of CF Sports Information

The College of Central Florida baseball team has readied itself for Mid-Florida Conference play with five straight games against teams ranked among the top eight in the state.On Monday afternoon, the Patriots finally ran out of gas.CF (13-9) saw State College of Florida-Manatee score seven unanswered runs, which helped deal the Patriots a 7-3 loss at Goodlett Field."We just hit a wall," said Patriots coach Marty Smith, whose team has played 41 innings over the span of five games in four days.Leading 2-0 in the sixth inning and with starter Colby Wisdom (2-2) rolling, CF saw Jared Smith rip a hit to the gap that scored the tying runs.Jared Smith attempted to get to third for a triple and the ball got away and went into the dugout, which allowed the Manatees to score the go-ahead run.SCOF (15-7), ranked eighth in the state, added four more runs in the seventh to stretch things out."(Wisdom) pitched very well and did a nice job of mixing things up," Marty Smith said. "He got that one pitch up (to Jared Smith) and (SCOF) cleared the bases and then the momentum changed."It burst our bubble (when the tying runs and ensuing go-ahead score came across). From there, the momentum really changed and (SCOF) took it to us late. They're a very good team."The Patriots scored single runs in the first and third innings to grab the early lead.Mario Urdaneta led off the first with a single and scored three batters later on a RBI double by Darren Fischer.Urdaneta walked and came around to score the second run in the third, while Josh Ellzey scored CF's other run in the seventh.The Manatees, who improved to 2-0 this season against CF, used four relief pitchers over the final four innings and allowed just one run.Urdaneta (1-for-3, two runs scored), Fischer (1-for-4, double, RBI), Collin Woody (1-for-4), Ellzey (run scored), Spencer Bowles (1-for-4), Enderson Velasquez (1-for-3) and Spencer Bowles (1-for-3) led the way at the plate for the Patriots, who fell to 8-3 at home on the season.CF, which went 3-1 against teams ranked among the top three in the state over the previous three days, returns to action on Wednesday afternoon at 3 at home against the Davenport JV.